BACKSTAGE BEAUTY: MBFWA15 DAY 5

Romance Was Born treated each of their 22 models to an individual makeup look. True to the label’s unique and vibrant aesthetic, each makeup look had one pop of explosive colour, delicately painted on by the Maybelline New York team. These varied between gilded metallics, and bright primary colours with a matte finish.

“We’re throwing all our rules away and applying the face in a painterly manner,” said director Nigel Stanislaus, “Brushes are bigger and we’re using Color Tattoo to which it around and have a bit of fun.”

The dramatic features on the face were offset with a bare, velvety face, using Maybelline Dream Pure BB Cream. The apples of the cheeks were lightly dusted by FITme Blush, blended downwards to create a “wind burn” effect. Models who did not wear a coloured lip were given a quick swipe of Baby Lips Lip Balm for soft, natural lips.

To create the fierce gilded brow, the eyebrows were first glued down with a UHU glue stick (!), and Color Tattoo in Bold Gold and Color Tattoo Pure Pigments in Wild Gold were applied to the adhesive. The diffused bronze eye made use Eye Studio HyperDiamonds in Bronze Diamonds.

Colour Drama Lip in Love My Pink and Red Essential were used instead on the eyes and blended outwards for a brightly intense effect.

Lips weren’t left alone either, with a striking coral shade also seen (Color Drama Lip in Love My Pink) The most wearable makeup look in the show, it was of course paired with a pile of rainbow dreads, the perfect Romance Was Born finishing touch.

Hair by ghd

The hair for the Romance Was Born show was directedby Alan White for ghd. “We’ve got four different hair looks. We’ve got chic braids, we’re bringing in a rainbow dread-vibe, then there’s colour, and clay.” said White of the look, “We’ve got chic top knots that have been prepped with the ghd eclipse and then have shine serum to give a nice finish. Then we’re braiding, pinning back in, painting clay in the hair, and then we’re adding deconstructed feathers to represent the birds and the bush.”

GAIL SORRONDA

Hair by REDKEN

The models at Gail Sorronda sported flapper-style bobs, as envisaged by Jon Pulitano for REDKEN. The bob was created by securing a braid at the nape of the neck to act as an anchor, and curling the rest of the hair under and pinning it to the braid. Rootful was used to create body and texture, and Shine Flash and Fashion Waves spray for a grungier texture. Faux fringes by Show Pony finished the look.

Makeup by MAC

Nicole Thompson created “sexy cyborgs” at Gail Sorronda. Models faces were pulled back with Mark Traynor Face Tape to accentuate the highlights and contours of the face. Hyper-luminous skin was created with a mixture of Cream Colour Base in Luna and Pearl, in addition to plenty of Strobe Cream. Brows were brushed backwards to look wild and untamed.

JOHANNA JOHNSON

Hair by REDKEN

Richard Kavanagh combined the best of the sophistication of the 1930s and the rock and roll of the 60s for to counterbalance the beaded intricacies in Johanna Johnson’s collection. “It’s a little dirty, there’s height at the crown, and it’s not perfect. We’ve used Redken Rootful to the hair and hand-dried it in with a bit of dry shampoo just to make it feel lived-in,” explained Kavanagh, “Every girl has a faux bob – we’ve done this by pulling the hair into a low ponytail, rolled it up and pinned it underneath.”

Makeup by MAC

Carol Mackie created a smouldering smokey eye paired with a vampy lip for the show, summarising the look as “classic but with a rock and roll twist”.

“We’ve got a grease effect on the eye with a gloss on top. We’ve used a pencil called Feline, which is jet-black, and smouldered it out on the base with a cream colour alongside another pencil called Phone Number. We’ve also used a mixture to create a crimson lip that gives that really vampy edge to the beauty.” said Mackie. The skin was left relatively bare, simply prepped and hydrated thoroughly. Subtle highlights and contoured helped to shape the face, creating a natural and fresh base to draw focus to the lip and eye.

BETTY TRAN

Hair by REDKEN

Jon Pulitano incorporated Betty Tran’s collection into the multi-textured hairstyle for the show, closing the hair into the designer’s collars. “The hair look is a mixture of strong and soft”, said Pulitano, “We’re using the Stand Tough a stronghold gel to make this a shiny strip. We’re playing with two textures of shine and natural, so the rest of the hair we’re using Rootful to create a nice natural texture in the hair.”

Makeup by Klara Cosmetics

The makeup featured a strong, graphic eyeliner paired with simple but luminous skin. Klara Sabotkoski for Klara Cosmetics said, “Today’s make-up look is all about abstracts, graphics, power and line-definition. It’s about the modern woman who knows what she wants”.

CS EDIT X KIRRILY JOHNSTON

The CS Edit X Kirrily Johnston show gave a nod to the Romans, with soft, gladiator-inspired braids and gold leaf lashes.

“Kirrily wanted a goddess vibe to the make-up,” said Kelsh, “It’s all about that beautiful dewy skin so we spent a bit of time massaging the moisturiser in before using a highlighter that was mixed up with gold pigments and used it on the cheekbones.”

The face was finished with a naturally nude lip, though some models were given a vibrant matte orange lip to complement the colours in the collection.

Hair by Wella Professionals

Wella Professionals took care of the hair, creating loose, tousled braids. The soft texture of the hairstyle allowed the hair to move with the clothes and with the models on the runway. Director Renya Xydis recommended trying this easy style at home, saying, “you would just need to plait the hair by four front sections, with two main braids at the back. Then tie the braids up and twirling it over at the back.”

About The Author

Amanda is constantly on the trail of the next life-changing beauty product. She loves Melbourne's vibrant music scene, taking any opportunity to soak up and discover local talent. You will find her in any pocket of this great city, washing down great conversation with a strong coffee.
Follow her musings on Instagram: @amungdavong